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Battle of Osgiliath
The Battle of Osgiliath was a battle of the War of the Ring at the ruined city of Osgiliath, and a prelude to the Siege of Gondor. History Prelude Osgiliath, defended by Boromir and Faramir, was attacked some nine months earlier, which resulted in Sauron taking control of the city's eastern half. Boromir afterwards left Gondor to seek counsel at Rivendell; he would never return.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Two Towers'', Book Two, Ch. II: "The Council of Elrond" In the ensuing time, Faramir led several Ranger attacks deep into Mordor-occupied Ithilien, ambushing enemy armies moving to the Black Gate; Frodo and Sam stumbled into one such attack''.[[The Lord of the Rings|''The Lord of the Rings]], ''The Two Towers'', Part Four, Ch. IV: "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit" While there were men defending the west side of Osgiliath, the Steward Denethor ordered Faramir to lead a force to reinforce them. Faramir regarded the order ill advised and certain to result in death, but complied. The battle Mordor, however, was prepared. Months beforehand, the Orcs in East Osgiliath had been secretly constructing massive numbers of boats and rafts, and swelled with reinforcements from Harad they swarmed across the River Anduin to the Gondor positions on the other bank. After heavy fighting, the garrison under Faramir and his troops were forced to flee back to Minas Tirith, behind the Rammas Echor. Faramir himself was badly wounded in the retreat, when a poisoned Southron arrow pierced him; more severe damage was done by the Black breath of the Nazgûl. When the retreat was sure to be a disaster, the knights of the Dol Amroth sortie led by Imrahil arrived; the pursuing hordes were driven back and the garrison reached the city safely. Aftermath In the meantime, the Orcs made makeshift repairs to several destroyed bridges. The main combined army of Mordor then arrived, formed from those that Frodo saw leaving Minas Morgul, but this was "but one and not the greatest of the hosts that Mordor now sent forth": for on their way from The Morgul Vale, the orcs the Minas Morgul cavalry led by the Witch-king of Angmar had been joined with the Haradrim from the south, and a far greater host that had massed at the Black Gate joined them at Osgiliath, and the combined forces now entered the western bank of Osgiliath. More also came from the fords at Cair Andros, which was recently captured, but they would not reach Minas Tirith until later.''The Lord of the Rings'', The Return of the King, Part Five, Ch. IV: "The Siege of Gondor" Osgiliath now completely in the hands of Mordor, the vast army of Sauron marched from the city and surrounded Minas Tirith, beginning the Siege of Gondor and leading directly into the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Portrayal in adaptations The Return of the King For cinematic purposes, the movie version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by Peter Jackson condensed the battle and made Gondor look much weaker and unfit to fight to add to the cinematic drama and add sense of desperation. The Orcs crossed the river at night in boats, and immediately joined battle with Faramir's men, slaying the Men of Gondor easily and brutally defeating them in battle (as opposed to the book were they fought valiantly). By morning, the Men of Gondor lost almost 350 of their men and then abandon the city and retreat in a miserable failure. The Nazgûl riding on top of their Fellbeasts killed 50 more soldiers, but Gandalf rescues them. At Minas Tirith, Denethor orders Faramir to retake Osgiliath. Faramir leads a cavalry company of the 100 remaining men and tries to retake Osgiliath, but runs into a shower of arrows from the orcs. The whole company is killed except Faramir, who is dragged back to Minas Tirith by his horse, unconscious with two arrows in him. Translations References de:Angriff auf Osgiliath it:Seconda Battaglia di Osgiliath (3019 TE) ru:Вторая битва при Осгилиате pl:Trzecia bitwa o Osgiliath Category:Battles Category:War of the Ring